Innovation and Research internship creates launchpad for service improvement
Ellen Murphy is now leading her own research project in Metro North Health following the completion of a COH Innovation and Research Internship.
A forward-thinking internship is building innovation and research capability, supporting succession planning and strengthening community health service development across the north of Brisbane and Moreton Bay.
The Community and Oral Health (COH) Director of Innovation and Research Mary Wheeldon said the new COH Innovation and Research Internship was a launchpad for clinicians to gain valuable experience in the research process and to help enhance care.
“Interns are gaining end to end, hands-on experience from refining a research idea and developing a plan on a page, to defining problem statements, conducting literature reviews, writing protocols, designing data collection tools and undertaking analysis and reporting,” Ms Wheeldon said.
“The COH Innovation and Research Internship is enhancing skills, confidence and capacity in evidence based practice and empowering clinicians to drive innovation.”
Ellen Murphy is one of the first interns to complete the COH research internship and said it has given her the skills and confidence to apply for different research positions, and she is now leading her own project within Metro North Health.
“The research internship opened my eyes to that context really matters. I left the role with a big shift in thinking to focusing on long-term success over small band-aid fixes,” Ms Murphy said.
“It is important to spend as much time as possible in the foreground of research, assessing the culture, the context and factors that may hold you back or enable you.
“It’s also important to develop a good research evaluation plan to see that intended aims are being met by the project.”
As part of her internship at COH, Ms Murphy received structured mentorship in research frameworks, implementation and evaluation, and worked on research projects such as a Health and Wellness Tool for the Post Acute Care Service.
“I was very fortunate that the team was really keen to showcase and expose me to a variety of different projects around COH,” Ms Murphy said.
“This was a good opportunity to dip my toes in research and see if this was a career that is going to suit me more while continuing to maintain my clinical grounding.”
Ms Wheeldon said the COH Innovation and Research Internship provided a structured pathway for COH clinicians and staff to contribute to and lead priority research and innovation initiatives that directly align with service needs.
“We developed the internship to strengthen the directorate’s capacity and capability to undertake high value research and project work,” Ms Wheeldon said.
“Broadly, the program supports future research leadership through succession planning, and leading meaningful service improvements within COH.”
Each year, COH staff can apply for the internship to gain dedicated support and mentorship from the Innovation and Research team.